SF Personal Trainer Blog

Bigger Triceps in 3 moves

The triceps is the muscle principally responsible for the extension of the elbow joint. There are 3 main heads of the triceps (hence the name) and you have to focus on all 3 in order to make your arms grow to their full potential. Let me remind you that your triceps account for over two thirds of your overall upper arm size!

It isn't just about your rep ranges, sets, intensity and programming. It's about the exercise choices you make to maximise growth with any given muscle, in this blog post I'm going to focus on the triceps.

The outer head and medial head of the triceps are often targeted with the same exercise, however the long head is the area which needs more specific focus. This is also the head of the triceps which really sets your arms apart, giving them that diamond shape and fullness from all angles.

These are the 3 great triceps exercises you should look to include more often into your programme!

Unilateral Overhead Cable Extensions

This is more of an isolation exercise where the focus is all about generating as much tension as you can. By doing them unilaterally you are able to pay more attention to the squeeze in each arm. The cables also add more tension within the set, and the long head become more engaged as you are doing an over head extension again forces.

Incline EZ Bar Skull Crushers

This exercise is the perfect way to stimulate your long head area of the triceps and gain an extra stretch at the bottom isometric contraction. The slight incline on the bench and the grip you take on the EZ bar will also allow you to gain a fuller range of motion, compared to a straight bar for instance in most cases.

This exercise is perfect for any rep range between 8-20 reps, focus on using a pause at the bottom of each rep to really maximise that stretch on the long head!

Narrow Grip Dips

Narrow grip dips are a very good overall mass builder for all heads. Focus on driving through your triceps rather than your shoulders and really focusing on as much overload as possible. Add weight to the exercises as you progress.